


Orientation

by VictoriaSinclair



Category: Classic Alice
Genre: Backstory, F/M, Friendship, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-25
Updated: 2014-09-25
Packaged: 2018-02-18 18:12:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2357435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VictoriaSinclair/pseuds/VictoriaSinclair
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Andrew Prichard walks into Orientation at Valeton University, he sees a familiar face...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Orientation

**Author's Note:**

> I'm fascinated by Alice and Andrew's backstory, so this is just a bit of fluff to explore one possibility for how they became friends.

Andrew Prichard stood just inside the classroom doorway and looked around. So this was his Valeton orientation group. His dad and his older brothers had been waxing nostalgic about this for _months._ Apparently this was where the Magic Of Valeton started, where he'd make friends for life and connections that would shape his career.

It really just felt like a lot of pressure.

He scanned the room, trying to figure out where to sit. This was a new problem. He was used to being a Prichard, to everyone knowing his name, his brothers, his father's business empire. To sitting with the cool kids by default. But here? Well, if he said his father's name, people would probably recognize it. But for the moment, he was anonymous. It was great. And kind of terrifying.

Suddenly his eyes caught a flash of red hair. It couldn't be - Alice? It was. What were the odds? Should he go sit with her? He was ridiculously happy to see a familiar face, and - forget it. He could meet new people later. He crossed the room and dropped down into the chair next to Alice's.

She looked up at him, and - frowned. Frowned? Did she not recognize him?

"Andrew. Andrew Prichard? From Taft?"

"I know who you are," Alice said quickly. "You sat in front of me every time we were seated alphabetically for years."

"Well. Okay. You just looked . . . confused." Now _he_ was confused.

"I was just surprised that you were here. In this room. If orientation is supposed to be about meeting new people and getting acclimated to Valeton, it seems weird to put people from the same high school in the same group. I wonder if it was a mistake? Is this breaking some sort of orientation rules? Should we tell them?"

Andrew raised an eyebrow. "Orientation rules?"

Alice shook her head, gave a little half-smile. "Oh well. It's not like we're friends." It was a simple statement of fact, and Andrew tried to ignore the small stab of hurt. It wasn't like they'd actually hung out in high school. Now that he thought about it, the people he _had_ hung out with hadn't always been as nice as they could have been to the nerdy bookish types. And he hadn't exactly objected, though he'd always had the feeling that Alice might be more interesting than any of them. He was probably lucky that she was talking to him at all.

"We are now," he said. "Friends, I mean."

"We are?"

"You're the one who said it's weird that we were assigned to the same orientation group. Clearly the universe is telling us something. It's fate, Alice Rackham."

" _Fate?_ " Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Fate," he repeated firmly. "No way you're getting rid of me now."


End file.
